6. นสพ. Bangkok Post วันที่ 22 สค. 54 น. 9
Bangkok Post : Column: COMMENTARY:
Journalism master leaves special legacy
by Saritdet Marukatat *
It’s not about that “Special One” at Real Madrid. It’s about the “Special One” who’s
really special. Everybody has one. For some, that person might be somebody who does great
things.
For others, it might be the one proud of being a nobody, working humbly behind the
scenes and watching his success with no need to let the world know what has been done. Let
the achievement speak for itself. That’s enough with no need for anything else.
Ajarn Surat Numnonda is one who prefers a quiet life, quiet achievements without
a demand for rewards and recognition in return.
The former dean of Chulalongkorn University’s communication arts faculty is happy
to groom students at the Journalism Department year after year for the real world. Even after
retirement, he keeps watching them, making comments and suggestions from home. His teaching
duty never stops on campus. It goes beyond the faculty’s premise and looks like a never-ending
process until he and his students are apart for good.
His thrust for journalism is as simple as his life. A good journalist is one who embarks
on a quest for truth, hits the problem right at its source with no hesitation, and makes the story
simple and readable. Simplicity is the most powerful tool to make a big impact with a story.
You can write a story with a fancy writing style. That’s OK if you make sure that everything
you want to tell readers is there. But if your message can be lost along the way, it’s not worth
it and the effort sadly becomes meaningless.
Lots of things which Ajarn Surat teaches cannot be found in textbooks. They come
from his experience here in the country and abroad. For him the best way to be a good journalist
does not start with listening to lectures in the classroom. Problems are out there everywhere
within and outside Bangkok. On the ground, experience gives students a look at what’s going
on around them and a chance to search for problems and turn them into stories. That’s why
he took students out of Bangkok so they had a chance to practise in unfamiliar territory. That
gave his students an opportunity to use the skills in the classroom and instil an instinct to look
๒ สุรัตน นุมนนท
7. for what is called news. News cannot be made up; it’s real and it can happen anywhere being
north, east, west, south.
One thing which is unacceptable for Ajarn Surat is all laws and regulations which
hamper press freedom. Being a journalist with no press freedom is like not being a journalist at
all. His book Chains of Journalists is one of the mustreads for students majoring in journalism.
The book reminds those wanting to be journalists in the future about the long fight of veteran
journalists in the old days against authoritarian regimes and all legal obstacles put up by the
authorities to keep journalists at bay.
They used laws with hopes to tame this profession and deter the work of reporters
and editors.
For him, press freedom doesn’t come easy. It’s from the never-say-die attitude
of journalists to fight for the right thing to do. That was shown by reporters decades ago who
worked in a hostile environment and ran the risk of being jailed every day.
Journalism owes one thing or two to him, even though he never demands anything
in return for his determination to be part of the efforts set up in this field in Thailand. Journal-
ism was very new in this country four decades ago. It was something sitting between arts and
political science. It was a subject without an identity until he and other colleagues at the faculty
helped the programme to take shape. One journalist after another once were products of Ajarn
Surat and his working partners at the faculty until
For him, getting the job done is what satisfied him most. Watching his students play
a part in the world of journalism is more than enough for him. He is not asking for anything
more. Leave him a quiet life with dignity - that’s all he’s ever wanted.
A phone call at 1.04 pm last Friday came as a shock. Even in death, it seems he
stuck to his principles of simplicity as his wife, Ajarn Thamsook, got the message across.
“Ajarn Surat Numnonda passed away due to blood infection on Aug 18, 2011. He
was 79. His family has donated the body for medical students at Chulalongkorn University.
“He would sincerely like to apologise to everyone whom he morally, physically or
verbally offended when he was alive.”
The message reflects what Ajarn Surat told his students all along. It’s simple and
straightforward.
He has left - but his contributions and legacy to quality journalism remain.
* สฤษดิิ์เดช มฤคทััต นิิเทศศาสตร จุฬาลงกรณมหาวิทยาลััย เอกหนัังสืือพิิมพ รุน ๑๗
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